


Favorite Video Games Essay

by Roselily2006



Series: Essays I made for class that didn't really need to be essays [1]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games), Subnautica (Video Game), どうぶつの森 | Animal Crossing Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:14:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27905053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roselily2006/pseuds/Roselily2006
Summary: Some of my favorite video games and why they are my favorite.
Series: Essays I made for class that didn't really need to be essays [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2050281
Kudos: 5





	Favorite Video Games Essay

My three favorite video games are Hollow Knight, Subnautica, and ACNH. I love Hollow Knight because it is a secret-filled, expansive, diverse world with interesting enemies, unique characters, and an environment that changes as you go through it. With fluid combat and mobility, wonderful, balanced (mostly), and unique boss fights, this game is a blast to play. It can make you feel everything from joy to sorrow, creeping terror to panicked fear, and has several things that are really disturbing if you think about them too hard. 

It has a beautiful soundtrack, the kind that really makes you feel what the game wants you to feel, and is one of the few games that can make me tear up just from hearing one of its songs (the other is Undertale, with Asriel's theme). The songs range from blood-pumping with fast beats and loud peaks, to panicked with fast snippets of song with an underlying simple beat, to sorrowful strings that beautifully complement the sight of the game's "final boss". Christopher Larkin is a musical genius. 

The map is full of little secrets, and an entire secret true final boss. In true metroidvania style, there are several abilities that allow you to better traverse the world and unlock new areas. There are plenty of secrets to be found back in old areas once you get these abilities, but you'll often find yourself traveling back for reasons other than "well, I'll do a quick sweep for secrets and leave". The characters are wonderful, with personality and charm, and even the shopkeepers are more than "what would you like to buy, traveler?". (Tip: in Dirtmouth, you can walk to the right of the shopkeepers to talk to them, rather than buy items.) 

The environments and enemies, while not exactly realistic, make sense in the world they inhabit. The lore is a large part of why I love this game. Your understanding of it is entirely up to you, as the game isn't dialogue-heavy, and most of said dialogue can be skipped with little impact on gameplay. The game tells its story in little hints and details in dialogue or environments. Hollow Knight is a master of environmental storytelling. For example, in the room with the Mantis Lords fight, the lords are sitting on three high thrones. However, keen-eyed players might notice a fourth, broken throne. This is later implied to be the throne of the Traitor Lord, a fourth lord who was cast out for embracing the Infection. And this is just one example of the details this game has in its environment. 

I could go on about this game all day, from the small things, like Elderbug having a little animation if you ignore and walk past him, along with special dialogue for either turning back to talk to him or continuing on, to the big things, like the Infected Crossroads transformation. Honestly, this game is amazing, 11/10, please play it. The Hunter's Journal is also a cool bestiary that makes sense in the lore. Heck, even the boss rush mode makes sense in and adds to the lore!

Another game I love is Subnautica. Its premise is that your ship crashed on an aquatic alien planet, and you are the sole survivor. Now, you need to explore this planet and find a way to get back home. Subnautica's main draw is its alien environment. Each and every creature makes sense in its ecosystem, creating a fleshed-out world that feels real, rather than "You eat these, these eat you, have fun." It has a rich and diverse environment, taking place on a volcanic crater that is one of the few spots on the planet with life other than microscopic creatures and giant Ghost Leviathans. Each unique biome makes sense in the context of the world, and are filled with creatures that you could imagine evolving in those conditions. Except the Reaper. All you imagine while you see it is it killing you. Because it is probably about to do that. 

The creatures range from adorable to terrifying, and it isn't always clear which you should actually be afraid of. Unassuming Mesmers are carnivorous and can send chills up your spine, while large and imposing Reefbacks could care less about you. Where the game really shines, though, is in the leviathans. The deadly Reaper, fire-breathing (somehow) Sea Dragon, otherworldly (literally) Ghost, these creatures are sure to make an impact. 

Subnautica's story is also wonderful. Like Hollow Knight, it tells its stories with the environment, with the help of some dialogue. However, Subnautica also has tons of great details in its PDA. From audio logs to creature scans, this thing is where a good portion of the story is discovered. 

Subnautica also has a great sense of natural progression like Hollow Knight, both games gently guiding you to where you need to go, but also allowing you to roam in their beautiful worlds. To a limit, of course. Leave the crater and you find nothing but tiny bugs and Ghost Leviathans. Even then, their AI only makes them hit you once (for like 95/100 damage), so you aren't instakilled the moment you leave the boundary. Subnautica also uses radio messages to a wonderful extent. The partially-translated broadcasts picked up from the Warpers are a great example. 

Word to the wise though, this game is not for the faint of heart, and goes with a fear of the ocean about as well as peanut butter goes with peanut allergies. You've probably picked up on the horror and panic that this game can give you, likely from every time I mentioned the Reaper. But this game also delivers in spine-chilling terror. Just look to the clicking and creaking Crabsquids, or the ever-present roars of an unseen reaper. (Fun fact! According to the Reaper's data entry, that roar is echolocation. So if you can hear it, it can see you.) The entire Blood Kelp biome and the Grand Reef Degasi base are great examples of this. 

Even the story can be scary. One amazing example of this is the side story of the Degasi, a ship that also crashed here a while back. You find traces of a small group of survivors, bases and audio logs they left behind, but you soon learn that they all met their end. (Except for Maida, she found her way into the setting of the sequel, but either way, you aren't meeting her in this game.) 

That's another thing Subnautica is good at; the feeling of being alone. Sure, you find remnants of an ancient alien civilization, and I already mentioned the Degasi crew, but the only living things are the wildlife and whatever classification Warpers fall into. Anyway, besides all that, the game is really fun. Personally, I play Creative Mode, where you don't have to worry about dying because nothing wants to kill you and you have unlimited hunger, thirst, and oxygen. It lets me build bases and watch wildlife to my heart's content. (One problem it has is that while the creatures don't care about you, they still hate your vehicles. That led to a traumatizing Deep Grand Reef Degasi base experience.) Though no matter the gamemode, Reapers still scare me.

Another favorite of mine in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, or ACNH. It's a fun game that I love coming back to. Also, my mom and sister play it too, so it has that added family love. The game is fun and addicting, and I can time travel with the Switch clock if I get impatient. Although, not without the occasional consequence. I was cleaning flowers for way too long after they infested every last bit of my island. ACNH is simple and fun, and keeps you coming back because you just need one more fish until you get everything for this month and-darnit another sea bass. Great game, fun to play, lets me bond with my mother without risking butting heads due to our similar short tempers, love it.

**Author's Note:**

> Look, I'm not writing an entire essay for a Video Game Design assignment that really didn't require that much work only to let it die in my Google Docs, okay?


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